Can the 1/3 beneficiary of an inherited fixed annuity take a cash payout (an already issued check) from the annuity issuing company and make a timely whole or partial tax-free annuity reinvestment of the cash with another annuity issuing company?

Generally, no. There's no provision of a rollover of cash at all, in Section 1035 (which is the correct provision, as you noted.)

Rev. Proc. 92-44 gave an exception, with a 60-day rollover included, for cases in which the issuer of the first policy (ins. co.) was in bankruptcy, receivership, or a similar state adminstrative proceeding.

This is from IRS Pub 575:http://www.irs.gov/publications/p575/ar02.html#en_US_2011_pu... Tax-free transfers for certain cash distributions. If you receive cash from the surrender of one contract and invest the cash in another contract, you generally do not have a tax-free transfer. However, you can elect to receive tax-free treatment for a cash distribution from an insurance company that is subject to a rehabilitation, conservatorship, insolvency, or similar state proceeding if all of the following conditions are met. •You withdraw all the cash to which you are entitled.

•You reinvest the proceeds within 60 days in a single contract issued by another insurance company.

•You assign all rights to any future distributions to the new issuer if the cash distribution is restricted by the state proceeding to an amount that is less than required for full settlement.

•An exchange of these contracts would otherwise qualify as a tax-free transfer.

You must give the new issuer a statement containing the following information. •The amount of cash distributed under the old contract.

•The amount of cash reinvested in the new contract.

•Your investment in the old contract on the date of the initial distribution.

You must also attach the following items to your timely filed income tax return for the year of the initial distribution. •A copy of the statement you gave to the new issuer.

•A statement that contains the words “ELECTION UNDER REV. PROC. 92-44,” the new issuer's name, and the policy number or similar identifying information for the new contract.

Tax-free exchange reported on Form 1099-R. If you make a tax-free exchange of an annuity contract for another annuity contract issued by a different company, the exchange will be shown on Form 1099-R with a code “6” in box 7. You need not report this on your tax return.

Date of purchase of contract received in a tax-free exchange. If you acquire an annuity contract in a tax-free exchange for another annuity contract, its date of purchase is the date you purchased the annuity you exchanged. This rule applies for determining if the annuity qualifies for exemption from the tax on early distributions as an immediate annuity. See Tax on Early Distributions , later.

If you've already deposited the check, I think you've lost that option.

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